Crispy Chickpea Bites In The Oven

The other night, Eric and I were cruising the aisles of Home Depot. Also known as, my Favourite Place On Earth.

Or my Least Favourite Place on Earth but I really can’t complain. I do drag Eric to Michaels (his Favourite Place on Earth) so it is only fair that he drags me to Home Depot.

Anyways, we were looking to purchase new plug plates outlets for our bedroom. Or whatever one would call those things.

I was helping Eric search for a specific kind of outlet among a sea of outlets and he said, ‘I think we should get the baby proof outlets, don’t you?’

I stopped and thought about it for a moment.

Finally, I said, ‘Are you pregnant!?’

Eric paused for a moment, rubbing his belly. He looked at me with a straight face and said, ‘I surely hope not, I haven’t been taking my Folic Acid lately!’

And then I almost peed myself.

I think it was the one and only occasion that I have ever had a smile on my face in Home Depot.

[And for the record….no, I’m not pregnant. But Eric might be…]

So while I don’t have any buns in the oven, I do have something delicious in the oven to show you tonight!

Crispy Chickpea Bites

Despite not being fried, these bites are crispy and have a soft, creamy interior with lots of flavour. I hesitate to call the bites ‘Falafel’ because they aren’t like traditional Falafel, but are perhaps a hybrid between Falafel and a chickpea burger! Did I mention they are super quick and easy to make?

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine the chickpeas,onion, garlic, flour, spices, oil, and salt, and pulse in a food processor until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Form the mixture into 8 small balls or patties with wet hands. Roll each bite in breadcrumbs if preferred. Bake in oven for approx 30-35 minutes or until crispy and golden. Serve in a pita or wrap with hummus, veggies, tahini sauce, etc. or on top of a salad.

These took me by surprise! I was not expecting much from them, but they were quite addicting. The exterior really crisps up, but the interior stays soft with a texture similar to hummus. They were great on their own, but I really enjoyed them in this tortilla wrap with spinach, tomato, back pepper, and hummus.

Basically, they are just another vehicle for more hummus. And I’m ok with that.

Vehicles for hummus are a-okay with me, especially when they look that good! I must say, I’m seriously impressed by your witty comeback to the baby-proof plug thing. But I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea- you don’t want to have to go to Home Depot for new ones whenever you decide to have kids!

I am pregnant and had a huge craving for pita bread, hummus, and falafel on my way home from work. And I mean intense craving. Then I sat down at home (after changing into sweat pants, of course) and saw your post. Showed the hubby and he promptly agreed that this looks amazing!

these seem easy enough! :) i might give ’em a go in my new food processor. home depot was nice for awhile, but then after a bazillion trips there picking out kitchen tiles/cabinets/counters/etc, i was SOOO sick of it.

hahaha you and Eric seem extremely CUTE! My husband’s “Favorite Place on Earth” (sadly) is the grocery store… especially when I’M there…
I actually LOVE Home Depot :):)
I love the recipe – I’ve been wanting to make falafel for a few weeks now, but these look like they’ll definitely kick the craving in HALF the time!! yum!

Hehe, I made something that looks almost exactly like these…on accident…when I messed up the directions on a box of falafal! Mine tasted kinda gross, though, but yours seem to have turned out right if they’re crispy on the outside and hummus-y on the inside! I had to disguise the bleh texture of mine with…you guessed it…hummus!

And I actually don’t mind Home Depot, all the paint, plants, cabinets and BATHTUBS!! I like to pick out everything I would put in my dream house… Then go home empty handed and consider staying overnight at a bed and breakfast in town just so I can have a bath in a REAL tub.

You and Eric literally just had me laughing out loud. You are so cute together! Double date in order the next time you’re in Florida ;)
Quick question -> do canned chickpea’s count as “cooked”?
Thanks Ange!

Love the Home Depot story. Nothing like some controversy to make a dull time fun :)

I lived on falafel when I was living in London and even when travelling. There is a chain of vegetarian falafel and salad pitta joints around Europe called Maoz. Man, they were my cheap backpacker buy every day and it was love!!

Right, now I know what I’m having for lunch! I love falafel, and chickpea burgers (and just chickpeas generally!) so these look perfect for me! Only my food processor is broken…hmmm…I guess I’ll try it in my blender then! :)
Hahaha Eric is so funny!! This made me laugh!! :D

I remember a couple of years ago when my husband suggested we get a four-door car because of impending parenthood (the first time he had ever hinted at it) and it was, like, The Greatest Thing He Had Ever Said To Me. Now I am 9 months pregnant, so Ang, watch out! Lolz

What the world needs now is more vehicles for hummus-consumption. I mean, seriously.

Ugh, Lowe’s is worse than Home Depot and my husband says about once a week, “do you want to go to Lowe’s this afternoon?”. Let’s just say it’s a rhetorical question and the only thing that makes it bearable is the garden department, which I sneak off to asap!
That convo between you and Eric is hilarious! You are both rather quick with the comebacks!

HAHAHA, that is halarious!!! What would he do without you ;) Loving the chickpea patties. I always eat chickpeas (usually just throw them on salad or with a sweet potato, etc. when I’m in a rush) and am needing a new way to make them exciting and fast! Thanks!

I too, am a Home Depot hater. In fact, I have been banned by my husband from entering HD anymore because I always seem to get into “it” with the so called employees there. I’m only allowed to go to Lowes now ;)

These look amazing!!! I can’t wait to make them this weekend! I love hummus, but I will admit that I sometimes get a bit bored with it. I love that you can buy all types/flavours of it, but it is still in the end hummus. I think this is a great way to get the goodness of hummus in a new, exciting and yummy way! Thanks for this recipe – I’m passing it along to all my vegan friends :)

I totally just experimented with this same thing last Monday night!!!! After I tasted the first one, I was kind of disappointed, so I added some chopped, roasted red peppers. Made a huge, yummy difference!

Congrats, Angela, on advancing in the challenge and for getting Winner’s Choice again!! I have to say how utterly impressed I am with your blog, how you present your food and walk through the preparation of your recipes. Your hard work, and commitment to what you do, shines through in every post.

I cannot wait to see what you come up with for the next challenge. I think your entries have been ones that everyone can enjoy, vegan or not. Good luck to you on the next challenge! I have no doubt you’ll do well.

I made these and thought they were great! But didn’t quite catch where the olive oil was supposed to fall in the recipe. Decided to just make it without and they turned out fine- not crispy though. Did you brush yours with olive oil?

Really, really good! Thank you so much for such a great recipe. I modified it just a teensy bit by using gluten free flour. I also fried the patties instead of baking them, just because it was a little faster and, well, fried chickpeas taste good. :-) Delicious. Very satisfying combination of flavors.

Made these for dinner and they were super good! I hate falafel, my mom loves it, we all adored these patties! Put them in whole wheat pitas with Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus + kale, lettuce, carrot dimes and bell pepper. Gonna become a staple for sure as it came together so quickly with easy-to-keep-around ingredients. Thanks for another great recipe, Angela!

Try adding spinach; shredded carrot and corn as well as peppers and onion…tastes so good! I did add a flax egg and breadcrumbs to my mixture before I baked and the recipe here; thanks for another great recipe!